Cancer health disparities persist globally, driven by inequities in access to early detection, diagnostics, supportive care, and survivorship services. These inequities disproportionately affect populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), ethnic minority communities, migrants, and Indigenous groups. The Cancer Health Disparities: Awareness to Action meeting held on 28 November 2025 as the finale of the London Global Cancer Week, highlighted ten research projects awarded the Vanessa Moss Prize, each addressing cancer inequities through community engagement, context-appropriate innovation, and systems-level thinking.

Despite significant advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, disparities in cancer outcomes remain pronounced across and within countries. Late-stage diagnosis, limited access to diagnostics, inadequate supportive care, and underrepresentation in research continue to affect marginalised populations disproportionately [1–3]. These inequities undermine global targets for cancer control, including the World Health Organization’s ambition to achieve earlier diagnosis and improved survival worldwide [4].

Equity-focused cancer research has historically received less visibility and funding than biologically driven or technology-intensive studies, despite its direct relevance to population-level outcomes [5]. Open-access platforms such as ecancer play a crucial role in amplifying research that centres underserved communities and resource-constrained settings. The Vanessa Moss Prize abstracts presented at the Cancer Health Disparities: Awareness to Action event exemplify how rigorous, context-sensitive research can contribute to meaningful reductions in cancer inequities.

Winners of the Vanessa Moss Prize at the 2025 London Global Cancer Week were:

• Soumen Das (Institute of Breast Disease, Kolkata, India) awarded for "Community-Integrated Early Breast Cancer Detection in LMICs using BC-RADS," highlighting the use of this low-cost, scalable tool in settings where mammography is inaccessible.
• Lin Cheng (University of Glasgow) explored "Supportive cancer care disparities among ethnic Chinese immigrants in Scotland,"  showing how cultural factors lead to unmet informational and psychosocial needs.
• Archana Sood (Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust) presented a Core20PLUS5-aligned project for "Building bridges: amplifying under-represented voices to shape cancer care," taking cancer services directly into communities.
• Funmilola Wuraola (OAUTHC Nigeria / UHN Toronto) performed "The ActioN Study: addressing inequities in breast cancer genetic testing in Nigeria," investigating genetic testing in resource-limited settings.
• Naman Julka-Anderson (Rad Chat, UK) proposed "Transforming skin care in radiotherapy through inclusive education," via an inclusive image library of treatment-related skin reactions across skin tones.
• Odunola Atitebi (Can-Survive UK) presented a "Living Beyond Cancer: a community-led survivorship intervention" project for African Caribbean cancer survivors reframing recovery as a social and cultural process, not just a clinical one.
• Uzair Khan (University of Cambridge / ESNEFT) assesed whether "AI-assisted biparametric MRI for prostate cancer diagnosis," could match diagnostic performance while increasing capacity and reducing costs.
• Elysse Bautista-Gonzalez (FUNSALUD, Mexico) investigated "Disparities in cancer resource distribution in Mexico," exposing structural inequities in cancer care delivery.
• Ahmed Newera (Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia) for "Wellness Watch: advancing colorectal cancer screening," showing how patient-centred design can improve outcomes at scale
• Delfin Lovelina Francis (Saveetha University, India) described how an "Eight-year tobacco cessation among Malayali tribes," reduced tobacco use in Indigenous communities.

These Vanessa Moss Prize abstracts reflect a growing body of scholarship committed to advancing cancer equity through practical, context-sensitive solutions. By spotlighting this work, the oncology community moves closer to bridging the gap between awareness and action. Sustained commitment to inclusive research, equitable funding, and community partnership will be essential to achieving meaningful and lasting reductions in cancer disparities.

Together, these ten abstracts show why equity-focused research must be visible, funded, and acted upon if we are serious about reducing cancer disparities.

For more information watch this interview with Dr Olubukola Ayodele, a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK or read the abstracts on the 2025 London Global Cancer Week Conference page here.

References

1. Bray F, Laversanne M, Weiderpass E, Soerjomataram I. The ever-increasing importance of cancer as a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Cancer. 2021;127(16):3029–3030.
2. Singh GK, Jemal A. Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in cancer mortality, incidence, and survival. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2017;26(6):759–765.
3. Vaccarella S, Lortet-Tieulent J, Saracci R, et al. Reducing social inequalities in cancer: evidence and priorities for research. IARC Sci Publ. 2019;(168):3–14.
4. World Health Organization. Guide to cancer early diagnosis. Geneva: WHO; 2017. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/guide-to-cancer-early-diagnosis. Accessed 09 January 2026
5. Marmot M, Allen J, Goldblatt P, et al. Fair society, healthy lives. London: The Marmot Review; 2010. https://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/resources-reports/fair-society-healthy-lives-the-marmot-review. Accessed 09 January 2026